Mid-season report card

[CalVike]

A solid C-

Beat 1-5 Jacksonville in OT at home.

Lost to 3-3 Indy on the road. No offense for long stretch. Lucky TD to keep it close.

Beat 5-2 49ers at home. Impressive in every phase. Impressive QB play. Aberration.

Beat Lions on road. 2 special teams TDs. No offense. Uh oh.

Impressively beat Titans at home.

Lost to Redskins on road. Bad QB play overall but a couple impressive drives late to keep it close. 3 early red zone failures.

Beat Cards at home. Worst game by a Vikings QB ever though.

Hammered 36-17 at home in a Thu night game road teams rarely win. Really bad defense. Weak QB play. Kicker took Harvin out early, no returns possible. Three 3 and outs early then 2 fumbles.

Bright sides: AD rocks! Harvin too. Harrison Smith. Better record than last year already.

Ominous looming: The weak QB play is on display for all DCs to exploit. Tougher schedule.

Predicted finish: 6-10

[mansquatch]

I think you are assuming that Ponder continues to play this bad and are discounting that this is by far the worst he has played in his career. Even last year when he was tossing picks all over the place he was still making the big throws. The point being he can make them. For whatever reason, he is presently playing very tentative and scared.

At this point, the coaches need to earn their pay. They need to get him some confidence and start calling better games. They also need to keep this team's mentality from totally going in the tank.

The big concern I have is the Cook injury and how long he'll be out. Our defense was not the same after he went down. That could be a big deal when we play Detroit...

[Sinatra]

I think you are assuming that Ponder continues to play this bad and are discounting that this is by far the worst he has played in his career. Even last year when he was tossing picks all over the place he was still making the big throws. The point being he can make them. For whatever reason, he is presently playing very tentative and scared.

Defenses have a year of tape on him now. I like to call this the "Derek Anderson Effect."

[Mothman]

I think you are assuming that Ponder continues to play this bad and are discounting that this is by far the worst he has played in his career. Even last year when he was tossing picks all over the place he was still making the big throws. The point being he can make them. For whatever reason, he is presently playing very tentative and scared.

It looks to me like he's lost confidence in both himself and the players around him and unfortunately, everybody involved helped justify the loss of confidence last night.

[losperros]

I'm going to have to go along with Jim Souhan on this one. He wrote:

Here's the scary aspect of this loss for Vikings fans: Their team received another superhuman effort from Peterson, another series of ferocious plays from Harvin, a downfield catch from Jerome Simpson, a timely sack from Allen, and even three knocked-down passes from Robison. And the Vikings still lost by 19.

http://www.startribune.com/sports/vikin ... ml?refer=y

When the stars make some big plays, it should ignite some uplifting momentum from the entire team but it doesn't. Or if it does, it doesn't last long.

I still think this team is better than last year's version. But maybe it still isn't a very good team overall. Actually, a "C-" sounds about right.

[mansquatch]

He is playing scared plus he seems to be over thinking things a bit. He really needs to take a does of "Alex Smith" and play within himself. The missed flare passes to Harvin were really bad, but there other questions.

Where is Rudolph? Why are we pushing Simpson so much? Seems like we have this great TE but we rarely get him the ball? I don't get it. Why not run him underneath and pick up 5-6 yards?

Ponder is definitely a major issue right now, but it seems to me like there is more going on. Even an inconsistent Jerome Simpson gives this team a viable deep threat. That mean on any given play you should have Simpson, Harvin, and Rudolph, one of which is going to be singled up. Even is Simpson is not drawing the double, why not use him to clear out a zone and then get the ball to Harvin on a crossing route or Rudolph underneath to help get some yards? I can't see all the routes, but it just seems weird the way this team is running it's passing plays.

One last thing: I know everyone is up in arms over the deep passing thing, but it seems like the coaches have let this get into their heads. You've got guys who can get you 5 yards more often than not. Feed AP, Feed Harvin, Feed Rudoplph, run the dink and dunk crap and get yourself to 3rd and 3 or 3rd and 2 instead of 3rd and 8 or 10. I really think Musgrave needs to better in this area. Early in the season we were letting our playmakers make plays. It seems like we've gotten away from that formula.

[purplehaze]

Mid season Report Card:

Special Teams- (A-)
Front 4-(B+) (Robison having great year)
Secondary- (B-) (way better than last year, so far. Smith gonna be awesome)
Running game (B+) (still solid with AD)
0-line- (C+) (better than last year)
Receivers (C+) (with a real QB I am betting they could be an easy B or B+)
Coaching (C) (slight improvement from last year)
QB (FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF) Most important position and we fail miserably.

[Delaqure]

Secondary (B+)
Linebackers (B) significant improvement over last year
D-Line (B) Nice knock downs, but need more pressure and do a better job stopping the run.
Receivers (C) Would be a D except for Harvin. Rudolph has disappeared
O-Line (C+) Much better run blocking than last year, but still allows too much pressure on pass plays
Running backs (B+) Peterson still needs work on pass blocking and receiving (primarily reading defenses and breaking open)
Quarterback (D) He played much better earlier in the season, but has regressed. Could easily improve if he made better reads

[Mothman]

He is playing scared plus he seems to be over thinking things a bit. He really needs to take a does of "Alex Smith" and play within himself. The missed flare passes to Harvin were really bad, but there other questions.

As I said in the game thread, I think those throws are a case of Ponder and Harvin not being on the same page. They looked bad but Ponder was throwing those passes as if he wanted Percy to turn up field and catch them on the run. He was leading the receiver but Percy wasn't running the route that way. Who's at fault? I don't think it matters. What matters is they need to get on the same page.

Where is Rudolph? Why are we pushing Simpson so much? Seems like we have this great TE but we rarely get him the ball? I don't get it. Why not run him underneath and pick up 5-6 yards?

I wonder the same thing about Jenkins, who is pretty good at running quick slants and short inside routes.

I think Rudolph has been drawing a lot of attention from defenses the past two weeks. They know he's a preferred target.

One last thing: I know everyone is up in arms over the deep passing thing, but it seems like the coaches have let this get into their heads. You've got guys who can get you 5 yards more often than not. Feed AP, Feed Harvin, Feed Rudoplph, run the dink and dunk crap and get yourself to 3rd and 3 or 3rd and 2 instead of 3rd and 8 or 10. I really think Musgrave needs to better in this area. Early in the season we were letting our playmakers make plays. It seems like we've gotten away from that formula.

Well said!

[losperros]

I think Simpson might be effective at running quick slants since he could probably make more out of them than Jenkins.

As it is, Simpson is being used as a one-note fly-out receiver. He's proven he can do more than that.

[mansquatch]

Simpson post suspension is one of the great mysteries of this season. I think we saw a glimpse of what the coaches see with his fumble last night. You get the sense that the Coaches are torn between not trusting the passing game/personnel (aside from Harvin) and needing to throw to keep defenses honest. The big question is if they are being too conservative or if the players are really that bad.

In terms of Ponder I'm not sure which it is. He makes bad decisions, but he also makes good ones. What is the right course to take with the guy? I think they have reined him in too much, but it isn't that simple.

Simpson might be a case where their conservative approach is justified. Mistakes from a WR are far less tolerable than for a QB. Is the fumble we saw something they see in practice and worry about? Does he have "other" issues we do not yet see? Hard to say on this guy.

[Mothman]

I think Simpson might be effective at running quick slants since he could probably make more out of them than Jenkins.

As it is, Simpson is being used as a one-note fly-out receiver. He's proven he can do more than that.

They were pretty one-note with him last night (although they did throw a short route to him on the play where he fumbled) but against the Lions they used him on several different routes and IIRC, he caught a down and out against the Cardinals. They could certainly try doing more with him.

Simpson definitely has the speed to make more out of a slant than Jenkins but from what I'm seeing so far, Jenkins seems like he uses his body better and might be a more polished route runner.

So far, neither looks like what the Vikes really need on the outside but we haven't seen that much of Simpson yet.

[losperros]

Simpson definitely has the speed to make more out of a slant than Jenkins but from what I'm seeing so far, Jenkins seems like he uses his body better and might be a more polished route runner.

So far, neither looks like what the Vikes really need on the outside but we haven't seen that much of Simpson yet.

You know, Jim, it's kind of an all-around dynamic in my mind. What the Vikings need on the outside also has to do with better decisions and clarity from Ponder, more secure and consistent pass blocking from the OL and RB, and receivers that run their routes correctly (including Simpson who at least on one occasion crowded the sideline far too much on a deep route). I know you agree with all that. But I want to add that while I think Jenkins can certainly be useful, I see Simpson as being far and away the better big play guy. With guys like Harvin and Simpson, the Vikings have a lot of receiving athleticism on the field. That becomes a prominent factor with doing quick hits, slants, or even a more dink and dunk offense.

Don't get me wrong. I can't stand the boring play-not-to-lose Childress stuff (and I know it makes you homicidal too ). But any offense, even a run first offense, can play aggressively if they have guys that can turn something small into something big. That's why running the ball can be play-to-win for the Vikings, because there is no one more aggressive or violent when running than AD. And few teams have WRs with the amazing burst and agility that Harvin and Simpson have. In fact, I think Simpson's chief weapon is his athleticism, much more than any ability to fight for the ball or run a great complex route. I guess I'm saying take advantage of what's there, which is the speed and explosiveness of Harvin and Simpson.

[PurpleKoolaid]

Wow alot of high marks for a D that is stinking u the place, esp. on the run. And usually the run right at JA. Robo has been play real well, JA been getting the sack, no one can tackle. This year Greenway cant cover or tackle. Jasper has made a few plays, which is a few more then I thought hed make.

ST hasnt been good, just Walsh. Kluwe has sucked.

I wont post what I think of Ponder. I would ban myself. Same with Musgrave.

[Mothman]

You know, Jim, it's kind of an all-around dynamic in my mind. What the Vikings need on the outside also has to do with better decisions and clarity from Ponder, more secure and consistent pass blocking from the OL and RB, and receivers that run their routes correctly (including Simpson who at least on one occasion crowded the sideline far too much on a deep route). I know you agree with all that. But I want to add that while I think Jenkins can certainly be useful, I see Simpson as being far and away the better big play guy. With guys like Harvin and Simpson, the Vikings have a lot of receiving athleticism on the field. That becomes a prominent factor with doing quick hits, slants, or even a more dink and dunk offense.

Don't get me wrong. I can't stand the boring play-not-to-lose Childress stuff (and I know it makes you homicidal too ). But any offense, even a run first offense, can play aggressively if they have guys that can turn something small into something big. That's why running the ball can be play-to-win for the Vikings, because there is no one more aggressive or violent when running than AD. And few teams have WRs with the amazing burst and agility that Harvin and Simpson have. In fact, I think Simpson's chief weapon is his athleticism, much more than any ability to fight for the ball or run a great complex route. I guess I'm saying take advantage of what's there, which is the speed and explosiveness of Harvin and Simpson.

That makes sense to me!